AG orders financial disclosure for nonprofit suing Pier 55

New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered the nonprofit waging an expensive legal war against Pier 55 to file financial disclosure documents, a move that may shed light on how the organization is funding its legal campaign against the park.

The City Club of New York has launched three separate lawsuits against Pier 55, a proposed 2.7-acre floating park along the Hudson River. The park’s main backer is media mogul Barry Diller, who is providing most of the $200 million in development costs. The City Club’s funding has remained a mystery, but Diller has publicly accused real estate heavyweight Douglas Durst of secretly paying for the lawsuits.

Schneiderman has now issued the nonprofit with a violation, and is forcing it to file financial disclosure documents, Crain’s reported.

“We were not aware until very recently of the state requirement and are cooperating with the state to get our filing up to date as quickly as possible,” City Club president Michael Gruen told the publication.

If it comes to fruition, Pier 55 will feature rolling green hills, an open-air stage and a separate large events space beside the Meatpacking district. Barry Diller, the head of InterActiveCorp, Expedia and the former chairman of Paramount Pictures, has contributed $113 million to build the park, along with his wife, fashion designer Diane Von Fürstenberg.

In September, Diller accused Durst of quietly bankrolling the City Club’s lawsuits against the park. Durst will not say if he’s financing the legal battle, but he told the New York Times, “I do not like the process or the project and I am in favor of the litigation.” Last month, when discussing the lawsuits, Diller called the Durst family a “killing machine,” a term for which he later apologized. [Crain’s] — Miriam Hall